Tom Ische is longtime Arctic Cat fan, rider and collector. His sled collection emphasizes rare late-1960s and 1970s racers. His sleds are immaculate.
His daughter Brianna is into vintage Cats nearly as much as he is. Like Stephen Knox commented on the memorabilia story, this is a family that plays together.
Here Nancy Ische and I are getting the sled situated on the white seamless background for the photo shoot.
I’d seen the famed 1974 Sno Pro sled in thousands of pictures, and they always appeared big for some reason. But when I saw (and sat on!) one, I realized how small they are. They’re practically tiny, and they almost feel delicate.
Here Tom does a few last-minute detail touches prior to taking pix. These guys opened their Glencoe, Minn., home to me for three days to capture hundreds of images, which made a huge impact on the quality of the book.
I’m at a loss for words at how beautiful this machine is. Prior to the photo shoot, my all-time favorite looking sled was the 1976 factory Sno Pro racer (another machine that the Ische’s own). During the shoot, I got a new girlfriend.
Can you see why?
Pure and gorgeous.
I found that if I got on my knees to bow to the ’74 Sno Pro’s beauty, that I felt worthy of being in its presence.
Thanks again to the Ische’s for making this happen, and to photographer Brian Balsatis for taking such stunning images.